The Jerome Area of Appanoose County

  Jerome had many relationships with the nearby communities of Plano, Marsdenville, Diamond, Bellair and Numa.  Men of Jerome traveled to these communities to work in the mines. Some of the residents of these communities traveled to Jerome to attend the Methodist Church, although there were Methodist churches in Plano and Bellair-Numa and some chose to be buried in the Jerome Cemetery.  These interactions also led to marriages of Jerome residents to residents of these other communities.  

  Thus, I will transcribe the interesting descriptions of these early communities and their coal mines written by Bill Heusinkveld and published in his two books - A Pictorial History of Towns of Appanoose County Past and Present [2003 -98 pages - $25] and The History of Coal Mining In Appanoose County, Iowa [2007 - 125 pages - $25].  I appreciate Heusinkveld's permission to include these articles in The Jerome Journal.

  In addition to the books above, Heusinkveld has also written and published: This Day in Iowa History [1995 - $10], Cemeteries of Appanoose County [1999 - 95 pages - $20], 101 Sketches of Pioneer Stories [2004 - 100 pages - $16], Historic Homes of Centerville [2004 - 42 pages - $12] and Nine Appanoose Regiments in the Civil War [2007 - 27 pages - $12].   You can secure your personal copy of each of these books at the prices noted above, plus $3 per book if the books need to be shipped, directly from Bill Heusinkveld, 800 South Park, Centerville, IA 52544.